I will never leave you
by Gones
Summary: My revision of Persona 3: FES, The Answer. Just wondering, and I intend to find the answer myself. AegisxMinato forever.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Awakening

Aegis' sight was full of static. She could not see her friends, but hear their cries. The cries of her friends. Her body would not respond, no matter how many times she wanted to move, she could not. She sat, motionlessly to the wall, unable to do anything as this unknown attacker began killing off her friends.

Her friends… If she lost them, would she truly be alone?

He had already left her, in the end of graduation day. While they were alone on the rooftop, she had promised to protect him, always. But she wouldn't be able to keep that promise. By the time the others had finally arrived… he had closed his eyes and had fallen asleep. Only to never wake again. With all attempts to wake him, he did not. He continued to sleep peacefully… then slipped into a coma, and finally, passed away.

He was gone. Gone forever.

She could not bear to think of him, because it caused so much pain… yet… All sound was drowned out. Suddenly, the world had become pure white; moreover… he was standing directly in front of her. Only his clothes and his face had color, but it didn't matter. He smiled that smile that she loved so much. Her two-toned blue eyes stained to look up. Aegis couldn't bear to lose anyone anymore…

"No…" She staggered to her feet. "_No…" _

The boy who taught her how to live, his face flashed again. It burned itself into her mind. His mouth moved, and let out one word.

"_Aegis._"

"_I won't let that happen anymore_!" Aegis cried, then became enveloped in blinding golden light. "Athena!" Aegis wasn't aware of what was happening. She only had one thought at the moment: to protect her friends.

Her familiar persona appeared behind her, but something strange was happening. A large, crimson circle appeared over Aegis' head. As soon as Athena passed through it, it had changed into his first persona. Minato's first persona.

"Orpheus?" Junpei said awestruck. "What the hell's going on?!"

The new persona's mouth moved, as if screaming, but all noise came from its speaker. Suddenly, its orange eyes widened considerably as sound convulsed from the speaker on its torso. It held its head, as if it were being possessed by something, and let out, loud, estranged noises from the speaker.

The attacker stopped choking Ken, and took notice of what was happening. Immediately, the figure lunged for Aegis, but before she could react, the resonance let off by Orpheus stopped her from coming close to Aegis, and knocked the figure into a smashed China cabinet. Smoke was wafting from the red, butterfly-shaped visor, which cover its face snapped open.

"Sis…ter…" she muttered, with her red eyes shining in the light.

"What?" Everyone murmured.

Even Aegis heard what the girl had said, but she couldn't stand anymore. She felt herself falling as her vision grew out of focus. She could no longer hear her friends calling to her… then everything went black.

* * *

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room."

Aegis woke with a start, and then looked around. She was in an elevator-like room, sitting on a chair across from an old man with a long nose on a navy blue loveseat, and a white-haired, yellow-eyed girl in a peculiar blue and black outfit.

"H-Huh? Where am I…?"

"Relax. You are very much alive. Ah?" The old man peered at Aegis, then said, "Are you a simulacrum, or indeed human? Whichever the case, your fate is very similar to mine."

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Aegis asked as she relaxed into the chair.

"Ah, forgive me. Where are my manners? I am Igor, and this is my assistant, Elizabeth." He gestured to the yellow-eyed girl.

"Pleased to meet you." She said plainly, with a small smile.

"This is the Velvet Room, a place that lies between mind and matter. That fact you are here means that a contract was made." Igor paused and added as an afterthought, "Why, not too long ago, there was a young man here with the Wild card ability as well."

Aegis stood up from the chair, and nearly shouted, "You knew of him?"

"Yes… That young man achieved a marvelous thing; He found his answer to life."

"The answer… to life?" Aegis sat back down in her chair.

"Yes." Igor murmured softly. "Might I see your Wild Card?"

"Wild Card…? Do you mean… this?" Aegis held out her hand, and an ornate Tarot card emerged, which floated to Igor a moment later.

"_Ah. The Master of Strings?_ It seems that young man is closer to you than you think. I should tell you that this particular persona will be harder to control, for a reason, of course. But that is all I can tell you." Igor paused, and the card returned to Aegis' hand. "Now, the matter at hand and the fact you are here, means you will require our assistance in the near future. Please, take this." Igor waved his hand, and an oranate, navy blue key fell onto Aegis' lap, and vanished.

"I shouldn't keep you hear any longer. Next time, you should come here of your own free will. 'Till then, farewell."

The Velvet room began fading out of sight and focus, like a blurry photograph. Aegis blinked, but before she realized it, everything had gone black again.

* * *

"Hmm…?" Aegis woke again, this time in the dorm's lounge. She was laying down on a couch, near Mitsuru, Junpei, Yukari, and Koromaru. It felt strange, after waking up from the time she had been in the Velvet Room, but other than that, she felt fine. She sat up.

"You're finally awake." Mitsuru said coolly. "There was no telling when you would wake up again, so I managed to repair your body, but…" She let out a small sigh.

"Oh… this is…" Aegis looked down and saw that there was new equipment on her body. "What is this?"

"A number of things appeared under the lounge. That android told me, 'If you want to protect Aegis, put that on her.' " She quoted.

"Thank you, Mitsuru-san." Aegis smiled lightly, and then stood up.

"I have another thing to tell you. Other than that girl, there's another problem. Two, actually."

"What is it?" Aegis asked earnestly. The others merely exchanged looks, then pointed behind Aegis. She looked at them wonderingly for a moment, then turned around. There was Orpheus, standing behind her.

"…Was he always there?" Aegis asked the others inquisitively, but she herself was not actually alarmed. The persona gingerly walked over to Aegis, as the others exchanged glances again. Aegis blinked, then curiously examined Orpheus. She had never actually seen him before; she had only heard of him, from stories Junpei had told her.

For the most part, Orpheus resembled Minato very much, except that Minato had navy blue hair, and kind gray eyes, not white hair and expressionless, reddish-orange eyes. Minato was also not made of steel, however, they apparently shared the same mannerism as well, they had the same silent expression, slouching stature, and oddly, his arms were awkwardly bent by his sides, as if he was hiding his metallic hands in invisible pockets.

'_Perhaps he acts this way, because he was Minato's First persona._' Aegis thought to herself. Orpheus looked away from Aegis' gaze, and lifted a metallic hand to tuck his red scarf a bit closer to his gray face, as though he were embarrassed.

Aegis finally turned away, and reiterated to her friends, "Was he always there?"

It was Junpei who spoke. "Well, yeah… It was acting weird most of the time though. Like, it didn't vanish like personas usually do after the battle, either."

"How so, Junpei-san?"

"While you were out, it stayed with you while playing that thing on its back."

"I believe that is called a 'lyre', Junpei-san." Aegis corrected, and Orpheus nodded in approval.

"Would you let me finish?" Junpei scratched his head, and Aegis looked apologetically at him. "Whatever… Anyway, it started floating around the dorm, checking up on you every so often. It also vanished for a couple of hours, but when it came back, it started looking around the dorm for something, namely, Minato's MP3. At first, it tried listening to it, but then it tried plugging the damn thing into itself! I tried confiscatin' it, but it got mad after I took it away, and then it went to your side again." He paused and added as an afterthought, "The funny thing is that it was actin' kinda… _human_."

"Are you saying he is not?" Aegis inquired. "If that is the case, why do you consider me female?

"I dunno. Are they?" Junpei shrugged. "I mean, have you ever seen a persona act human? And Aegis, You were designed to be a girl, so there's no arguing in that department."

"It is true I have not seen a persona act human until now, but does that mean they aren't?"

"Forget it." Junpei said flatly as he hit himself lightly on the forehead. "Here's our other problem. C'mere."

Junpei, followed by the Aegis and Orpheus, made their way to another room, where Aegis immediately recognized another simulacrum like herself, chained to a wooden chair.

"Don't worry. She's on her best behavior now that we've got our evokers." Akihiko stated in his usually confident tone.

"Excuse me." Aegis called to the motionless simulacrum, who remained motionless. Quietly, Orpheus walked in front of Aegis and Junpei, while startling Junpei and Akihiko and Ken in the process. Once in front of the android, he poked her head.

"Nnnh…?" The red butterfly shaped visor snapped open again, revealing the younger, paler version of Aegis, except that her body and was black, and her eyes were red, compared to the blond and white-bodied Aegis. "Huh…?"

"You mean she was asleep the entire time?" All those endless shifts were for nothing?!" Junpei groaned loudly, while the others ignored his complaints.

"Umm… I won't attack anymore, so these restraints aren't necessary anymore." The girl said quickly, and looked up at Aegis.

"No one is going to believe you if you don't explain why." Aegis said coldly, which hurt the red-eyed simulacrum's feelings.

"I was doing it for your sake!" She protested. " I really won't!"

Aegis, paused, then let out a small sigh. "Akihiko-san, please un-restrain her."

"What? Are you serious Aegis?"

"I do no doubt that she is lying. If she truly is a simulacrum like myself, then those type of restraints are of no hindrance."

No sooner than Aegis had said that, the girl lifted her arms effortlessly and shattered the chains no pieces. She had kept her word, and did not attack.

"Now, who are you, and why did you attack my friends?"

"I am Metis." She stated and stood up from the wooden chair. "As you can see, we are practically sisters. I attacked them because it was the quickest way to solve this hopeless situation."

"So that is why you called me your sister earlier." Aegis frowned slightly. "What do you mean hopeless situation? Why didn't you just explain it to us?"

Metis hesitated, and turned away form Aegis' gaze. "I-I… Thought you wouldn't like me…"

It became quiet during the moment. The others seemed amused at Metis' remark. Orpheus however, was apparently glancing back and forth between Metis and Aegis. He finally stopped once he hit his other hand lightly with his curled up fist, as though he was done registering that they were sisters.

Junpei was highly alarmed by this. "Aww, Dammit! The it goes again!" Junpei yelled, while pointing at Orpheus. "Does anyone other than me think this is weird?"

"Not as weird as you're acting, Stupei." Yukari quipped bitterly. "I don't see what the big deal is. It's just a persona."

"Yuka-tan. It's like having a constant reminder of… Minato." Junpei scratched his head, and his expression became downcast, followed by Yuki, who also saddened by the remark. Even Orpheus looked a little sad.

"Yukari-san… Junpei-san…" Aegis unenthusiastically turned to Orpheus, and mumbled quietly, "…Please go back…"

The persona reluctantly nodded, much to Aegis' surprise. She didn't really want the persona to leave, because it felt like having him nearby. Orpheus gazed into Aegis' eyes for a moment, and then closed his eyes. He was enveloped in a flash of light, and then simply vanished.

"Aegis… thanks." Junpei heaved a sigh. "Yeah… I mean, it acts just like him…so…" His voice trailed off.

Aegis nodded, then turned to Metis. "Now, please explain this hopeless situation."

"It's better if you see it for yourself." Metis glanced nervously at Aegis. "Umm… Can I call you 'Sister'?"

"Okay." Aegis smiled warmly. "Now, please show us."

"Follow me, sister." Metis said with more than a hint of happiness,

Followed by Aegis and the group, Metis walked to the lounge and carefully lifted a trapdoor, which led to a fleet of stairs. They followed Metis down the stairs, until they had reached a desert. The entire group had stopped walking at the opening of the stairs, but Metis continued walk until she was at the middle of the desert-like room.

"This is the Abyss of Time."

"The Abyss of time…? I think I read about that somewhere." It was Fuuka who spoke this time. "The Abyss of Time was classified as a by-product of Tartarus. It was supposed to disappear with Tartarus and the Dark Hour, so why is it underneath our dorm?"

"It was supposed to disappear, but instead, it grew, and attached itself to your dorm. This is the reason why the day keeps repeating itself." Metis explained.

"It's Tartarus all over again…" Junpei grimaced, and this time, nobody argued.

"I just wanted to get on with my life, and this happens?" Yukari huffed, then glanced at a stunned Junpei. "What's your deal?"

Junpei merely shrugged, then ran back upstairs without a word.

"Hey guys, what that…?" Ken asked, and pointed to a familiar black figure running through a door. "Huh… Oh, Aegis. Behind you."

"Orpheus was standing behind Aegis again. She had not noticed at all, but what she did notice was the frowning expression on his face. "How…?" Orpheus gave Aegis a small nod, then vanished again.

"Did you call it out, Aegis?" Ken asked.

"No…" Aegis now understood Igor's words. This persona could do things of his own will. Did Minato have this kind of problem as well?

"Well, I kinda see what Junpei-san means now. Oh well." Ken shrugged.

"Well in any case, if this is anything like Tartarus, then that means that there'll be shadows. I think we should go upstais and prepare." Mitsuru paused to see if anyone objected. "…Well then, let's go everyone."

The group, excluding Aegis and Metis, went back upstairs.

"Sister… he's back." Metis looked thoughtfully at Orpheus, who had reappeared behind Aegis again. She gave Aegis a look, before saying, "I'll leave you two alone." With that, Metis retreated upstairs.

Now that they were alone, the persona turned to Aegis, and opened its mouth as if he was trying to say something. Aegis tilted her head. What was he trying to say? Aegis watched intently as the persona mouthed the words.

_GO TO THE VELVET ROOM._

"Go to the Velvet Room…? I do not even know where it is…" Aegis glanced at Orpheus wonderingly. "Why?"

Before she could receive an answer, Yukari yelled, "Hurry up, Aegis!"

"Coming!" She called back, and turned away from Orpheus. When she had looked back, he was already gone.

'_What is he trying to tell me?'_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: His Voice

Everyone was busy amongst themselves, and Aegis did not want to disturb them. She sat on a chair in the lounge, accompanied by Metis and Orpheus. Though, Metis just kept gazing at Aegis with adoration, and Orpheus looked rather bored. There was nothing happening, other than the matter at hand. Aegis peered at the back exit, and saw a velvet blue door in front of the exit. Curiously, Aegis stood up, and walked to the door. She brought out the key that Igor had given her, and opened the door.

* * *

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room." It was Elizabeth who greeted her as she entered the room.

She noticed that Orpheus was by her side, while she sat in the chair. It helped her relax a bit, to know that she was not alone.

"Ah, yes. I see you now know what I mean." Igor chuckled. "The Ordeal that awaits you has now begun. Tell me; Have you noticed something, peculiar, about him?" Igor gestured to Orpheus.

"Well… He does things of his own will, acts human, and… followed me in here?" Aegis frowned. "But what does all this mean?"

"I cannot answer that." Igor's eyes bulged. " However, have you ever heard of such a thing, called a social link?"

"Social link…?" Aegis pondered it for a moment, but came up with no answer.

"A social Link is a bond; a bond that keeps you together with your friends. _'Strength of heart is barred away by no door.' " _Igor quoted, then gave Orpheus a quick glance. "Bonds you have made with people never vanish, even at times when they seem non-existent. If I look at your current social link status…" Igor paused. "How interesting. It seems that your bond with that young man is still the strongest. But let us put that aside for now."

"Umm… Can he understand us…?" Aegis let out a small sigh. "Why does he act so much… like Minato…?"

"As we speak. My dear, you will learn the truth perhaps in time. I suppose, he will tell you himself." Igor smiled. "'Till then."

* * *

"What did he mean?" Aegis glanced hopefully at Orpheus, who made no motion to signal that he understood her. Aegis sighed. _'What did Igor mean by 'the truth?'_

Then at that moment, Orpheus ruffled her faux blond hair. She marveled at this. _'Maybe personas are more human than I thought as well…'_

"Are you gonna stand there all day by yourself, staring at the exit?" Yukari seemed annoyed. "We already tried all the doors. None of them opened, let alone moved."

"By myself…?" Aegis checked to see if Orpheus was still there. He was, except that he was out of Yukari's sight, because he was hiding behind the Velvet Door. Aegis also noticed that his expression seemed a little, _sad_. She couldn't help wonder why.

"Yukari-san, do you not see the door?"

"What door? The exit?" Yukari looked at her as if she were crazy. "Wait… are you trying to mess with me like Minato did when we first went to Tartarus?"

"Huh…? Minato did what…?" Aegis then concluded that Yukari could not see the door. But she was confused. What did Minato do when they first went to Tartarus? "I am sorry, but I do not know what you mean…"

Yukari let out a sigh. "Never mind Aegis. Anyway, Junpei and Koro-chan are in the desert of doors. Ugh, this is exactly like Tartarus!" She complained.

"Yukari-san, shall we investigate together?"

"Sure. I wanna get this over with."

A few minutes later, Aegis had asked Akihiko and Metis to accompany them as well. With a full party in tow, the team went downstairs to the desert of doors, with Fuuka tagging along.

"I'll stay here and provide support. Please, be careful."

* * *

Aegis led the team to the door where she had glimpsed the familiar figure from before. The door had no sort of handle, or knob, but it didn't take much time to figure out how to open it. All she had to do was touch the door. The door creaked open, and light poured out. Aegis stepped into the light cautiously. In a whirl of light and sound, she was transported away into a hallway, where she met up with the others a few moments later after her own arrival.

"_Is everyone alright?" _It was the sound of Fuuka's voice, echoing through the corridor. _"Aegis-chan, there are shadows here!"_ She paused. "_And… huh…?"_

"Is something the matter, Fuuka-san?"

"_No… Please, proceed with caution."_

There were shadows roaming around on every floor, like Fuuka had said. It seems, everyone, including Aegis had gotten rusty when it came to fighting shadows. Aegis did her best to lead the team out of danger. She wasn't as good as Minato when he was leader, but she was still decent. She led them to the stairs for the 10th time, and everyone was still going strong. Unfortunately, this particular floor was full of shadows. Everyone was too distracted to notice a familiar figure run around a corner and vanish. But it did catch Fuuka's attention.

"_So it wasn't my imagination… what a strange presence."_ She muttered. _"Aegis-chan, be careful. These shadows aren't anything like you've fought before!"_

The shadows spotted Aegis, and immediately charged. She anticipated this, and sent a well-timed shot to the shadow, gaining the advantage for the team. But even though they had the advantage this time, The giant shadow went before anyone else. It was charging its strength. Next, was Akihiko. He pulled out his evoker to call his persona.

"Don't mess with me." He said as he pressed the evoker to his forehead and pulled the trigger. His persona, Caesar appeared and casted Mazionga, damaging the big shadow and its minions. "Damn that thing strong. Tch."

It was Aegis' turn to move. Immediately, she yelled, "Fuuka, scan the enemy!"

"Give me a sec, I'll scan the target."

"I need your help! Orpheus!" She called, and the persona faithfully appeared to her aid, casted Maragi, and then vanished. The damage was small, but it still was effective.

"Psyche!" Metis' butterfly-like persona appeared, and then began charging up.

"Target scanned! It's weak to Garu spells, but don't use Bufu skills!"

"Then leave this to me!" Yukari shouted. "Isi—!" Yukari was stopped before she could finish. The big shadow interrupted Yukari, and used 'Kill Rush'. She screamed, and was knocked to the floor.

"Aegis! Yukari-san is in danger!"

"Sister, please, let me go into Orgia mode!" Metis yelled. "I'll be sure to make it pay for what it did to your friend!"

"Metis, go!" Aegis shouted. "I need your help!" Orpheus appeared again, and casted the healing spell on Yukari. It didn't heal her completely, but it did do the trick.

"Orgia mode Activate!" Metis spoke in a monotone voice, and became enveloped in the same reddish aura as before. She ran up to the big Shadow, and swung her hammer with all her might, and managed to knock it back, away from the group.

"Why you little—!" Yukari had finally gotten back to her feet. "Isis!"

Her persona appeared, and summoned a deadly gale, which knocked the shadow to the floor, as it did to her. Akihiko's expression brightened with determination.

"I've been waiting for this!!" Akihiko said excitedly.

Aegis nodded. "Everyone, Attack!"

At that point, it became hectic as everyone jumped the shadow while it was down. However, when the moment passed, the shadow was back on its feet, alone and critically injured. Without a warning, the shadow began charging at Yukari. Only Aegis had seen this, but the words would not form in her mouth. There was no need to, because someone else spoke for her.

"Yukari! Behind you!" The voice seemed electronic in a way, like a recording, but the effect was still the same. Everyone heard his voice.

"M-Minato?" Yukari swung the other way, and instead saw the shadow seconds away from ramming into her. "Wha—?"

"Orpheus! Aegis called, and Orpheus answered. He swiftly dove and grabbed Yukari, right before the shadow slammed itself into the wall, and take Yukari with it. As soon as the shadow impacted against the wall, it spattered into a black, goopy mess, then dissipated into the air.

Orpheus put Yukari down gently, and flashed a small smile. Yukari was shocked, but more confused. "Huh…?"

By the time the Aegis and the others got there, Orpheus had already vanished. Yukari had a confused, expression on her face. She turned to the group, and muttered, "…Did you guys hear that…?"

Everyone was silent.

"Ha… I must be hearing things…" Yukari tightened her grip on her bow, and shook her head.

Aegis gazed at Yukari intently, for she had heard him too. She broke the silence, by saying thoughtfully, "Yukari-san… Shall we head back to the dorm for today?"

"Yeah…" Yukari let out a long sigh.

That battle was their first hard one in a long time. Aegis didn't feel tired, but she could see that the others were. Even Metis was tired, so why wasn't Aegis? It seems… ever since Minato's death, she couldn't feel tired, nor sleep. She could no longer dream of him. "Everyone, let's go back."

Nobody argued.

While walked to the transporter, Aegis stopped in her tracks. There were… cards floating in her mind. They simply floated there, doing nothing. Aegis frowned, and began focusing on the cards until they became clear. There were five cards, and now that she was focusing on them, they began mixing themselves up, until Aegis could no longer keep up. She was dizzy from watching them spin and switch positions. She didn't know which card was which, so she randomly chose the card in the middle.

_Thou hast welcomed **Legion** into thy heart_

The cards disappeared, and revealed a new persona for Aegis. She began walking again to the floor's exit, wondering how this came to be.

Aegis was back at the Desert of Doors. Metis was there, waiting for her.

"Sister, is something the matter?"

Aegis bit her lip. "No Metis. I am fine…"

"…Tell me Sister, what was that voice back there? Whom did it belong to?" Metis tilted her head curiously.

"…A very dear friend of ours…" That was the only way Aegis could put it. "Please excuse me Metis, I need to think."

"Okay Sister. Let's go upstairs."

As they climbed the stairs together, Aegis could not stop thinking about him. She had much to ask Igor, so she decided to return to the Velvet Room.

* * *

Aegis had made sure she had opened the door, so why was no one here? The elevator was still moving, the clock still turning, but where did Igor and Elizabeth go? She looked to the side; Orpheus was not present either. Where had they gone?

She looked up again, and saw that Orpheus was there, standing in Elizabeth's normal spot.

"Umm… Where is Igor? I wish to speak with him…" Aegis said nervously to Orpheus, in which he merely shook his head.

Aegis sighed. "…Hmm…"

Orpheus looked at her curiously, as if asking, _Is something the matter?_

"I…" Aegis began to say. "I wonder if he— Minato, was the one who spoke… back in the Abyss of Time…" She paused. "I wonder… why did he have to… _die_?"

Orpheus looked sadly at Aegis. She continued to speak.

"I… We all miss him… _so much_… but my tears…" Aegis' voice choked. "I— make such a terrible leader— I couldn't even…"

Orpheus walked to Aegis. She looked up at the metallic persona, who resembled him so much… it hurt to look at him, because it made her remember the promise she had made to Minato. The promise she had failed to keep.

Orpheus mouthed the words, _You're doing fine._

"No… I am not… I am a failure," She looked away. "To my friends, to _him_… I… They are better off without me…"

Orpheus frowned at those words. He pulled her face up gently, so that she looked at him. He mouthed, _Don't say those things._

"B-But…"

_I believe in you._

Aegis looked away again. "…Let's go back…" She said uncertainly. Orpheus nodded.

"…Thank you." Aegis smiled.

Orpheus smiled back, and then vanished.

Now alone, Aegis stood up from the chair to leave the Velvet Room, but she heard a voice… not Minato's voice, but a voice coming from her mind.

_Thou art I… I am thou…_

_Thy World Social link has been established with thy 'Master of Strings'…_

"Social… Link…?" Aegis muttered, then walked out of the Velvet Room, feeling hopeful again.

* * *

A/n: Sorry for mess ups in the original storyline, I'm trying to not mess with it too much, so please excuse any mess ups in the game play and floors in each door.  
Its been-who-knows-how-long since I've played The Answer. So please, bear with me. -Tamer of Memory


End file.
